Aircraft

By Brendan Sobie in Singapore

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has again delayed its highly anticipated purchase of new widebody aircraft but plans to begin final negotiations with Airbus and Boeing in the next few weeks.

SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng told analysts at its fourth quarter earnings conference yesterday that the carrier’s board “has given management a mandate to enter final negotiations with the manufacturers”. “What orders we place will depend very much on the response of the manufacturers to the negotiations,” Chew says.

SIA has been evaluating the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 and Chew told ATI in early April that a selection, initially expected early this year, could be approved at a 9 May board meeting. But Chew later in April suggested to reporters that Airbus should redesign the A350 and industry sources say Airbus subsequently asked SIA to hold off from making a selection at the 9 May meeting because details of a redesign are forthcoming.

SIA also has delayed a selection on new large capacity and ultra-long range aircraft. The Star Alliance carrier has been evaluating the Boeing 777-200LR as a possible replacement for its fleet of five Airbus A340-500s. It also has received proposals for Boeing 747-8s, which it is evaluating against proposals for more Airbus A380s.

SIA already has 10 A380s on order. It now may place simultaneous orders for up to three aircraft types as early as June.

An SIA spokesman says while the board did not approve any new aircraft order yesterday “we’re a step closer” to completing a review of new aircraft types which began at the middle of last year.